Davis felt Gruden was “all in” on Christmas Eve with regards to becoming Oakland’s next head coach, he said at Gruden’s introductory press conference in Alameda. Gruden and Davis met in Philadelphia on Dec. 24, the day before Gruden called Raiders-Eagles on Monday Night Football for ESPN.

"We are deeply concerned by reports that the Oakland Raiders’ owner, Mark Davis, came to an agreement with Jon Gruden about him becoming the Raiders’ next head coach before interviewing any candidates of color,” the statement said. “If so, the Club violated the Rooney Rule, which was instituted by the NFL in 2003 and requires teams to interview at least one candidate of color for open head coaching and general manager positions.

“As soon as we learned of the reports, we formally requested that the NFL thoroughly investigate the matter to conclusively determine whether the Rooney Rule was violated — and if it was violated, to impose an appropriate punishment.”

Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie said during the press conference that the team satisfied the Rooney Rule, and interviewed two minority candidates in doing so: Raiders tight ends coach Bobby Johnson and USC offensive coordinator Tee Martin.

That meeting between Davis and Gruden in Philadelphia came exactly one week before the Raiders’ owner fired Jack Del Rio following a 30-10 loss to the Chargers in the season finale. Davis has long pursued Gruden to be Oakland’s head coach, and the Raiders officially announced his hiring on Jan. 6.

If the Raiders are found to have violated the rule, they are subject to a fine from the league.